New Library Ready for Opening Day

By Patty Kruszewski, Henrico Citizen Managing Editor 10/05/06

There's a whole lot of sipping and surfing going on -- and not much shushing -- in today's modern library. And nowhere is the trend more evident than inside Henrico's new gem at 1901 Starling Drive. {{more}}

Opening Oct. 9 at 9 a.m., the new Tuckahoe Library boasts more than twice as many public computers (113) as the old; a cafe serving box lunches and coffee; meeting and conference rooms; an elevator; more than triple the parking space; and (among the staff favorites) spacious seating areas with cushy chairs and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a scenic view.

"We've seen geese, ducks, hawks and heron," says librarian Sue Van Tassel, who has already found a favorite nook for relaxing by the window. "After lunch I come sit here with my book. It was brilliant of [the architects] to keep this whole side so open."

Since the old library closed its doors August 12, staff has has been scrambling to set up everything from shelving to signage and to organize an expanded collection of books, DVDs, audio books, and magazines numbering 183,000.

"It was a very challenging move," says Van Tassel. "Imagine building a new house of 52,000 square feet and having to fill it up and find a place for everything. Plus the amount of technology and new wiring.

"We didn't want to have to close it that long," she says of the shift from the long-outgrown 35-year-old building on Parham Road. "But the reality is it's taken all eight weeks to get ready."

Thanks to amenities such as a meeting room with full kitchen and puppet stage, a conference room seating 16, a 'state of the art computer lab (including laptops available for on-site checkout), Tuckahoe now has the capacity to hold many more classes and special events.

Coming up on the fall schedule are classes in basic computer literacy, Excel, and getting started on the Web, and events that include a Holiday Greens workshop, fencing demonstration, Kamp Kreatures puppet show, environmental book discussion group, and Teen Read Week kick-off featuring ComedySportz.

Using Every SpaceEven the employee break room, complete with spacious cooking area and delectable views ("It's like Emeril's kitchen!" Van Tassel likes to say, laughing) doubles as a setting for classes. Cookbook author Debi Shawcross will be the first to hold a book signing and salad tasting in the break room's demonstration kitchen on Nov. 11.

"So we're really using every space," Van Tassel points out.

As the children's librarian, Van Tassel is especially pleased with the separate story time room, which means story hours need no longer compete with adult meetings, and decorations and equipment can be left in place.

As young readers outgrow the children's corner, they can gravitate to another space created especially for them: the young adult area.

But no matter how impressive facts and figures about square footage and technology may look on paper, emphasizes Courtney Melchor, they don't do justice to the building's cheery atmosphere. "The natural light, striking colors, and comfy seating areas throughout" are impossible to appreciate without a visit, insists the library system's community liaison.

As librarian Yvonne Schieberl points out, the overstuffed chairs and "community seating" arrangements lend themselves much better to collaboration, conversation and group study than did the cubicles and study carrels of the old library. Plumping her bench seat in a section of diner-like tables that librarians have dubbed the 'funky seating area," Schieberl exclaims, "These are not like school chairs!"

The fire broke out in the third floor of the Chase Gayton apartment complex in the 10 block of Chase Gayton Drive, near the intersection of Gaskins Road and Quioccasin Road, at about 1:20 p.m. Sept. 24. > Read more.

Crime stoppers needs your help to solve a double homicide that occurred in the City of Richmond in June of this year.

On Wednesday, June 7, at approximately 9:53 p.m., Richmond police officers responded to several calls for random gunfire in the 3600 block of Decatur Street. They arrived and found the victims, two males, Christian Singleton and Ketron Wells. The victims were outside on the ground lying near each other. Both victims had received fatal gunshot wounds. > Read more.

The Richmond Astronomical Society and Libbie Mill Library will host a presentation about the night sky and its astronomy Sept. 28, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Attendees will enjoy amazing views of the moon and other celestial objects with high-quality telescopes operated by members of the Richmond Astronomical Society. Guests will be able to see craters and seas on the surface of the moon with clarity and detail. > Read more.

The number of homes sold in Henrico County in August rose 10 percent when compared to the same month last year, according to data compiled by Long & Foster. The average sale price of those homes – $239,975 – also rose, by about 4 percent when compared to the same average sale price in August 2016.

Henrico's jump in the number of homes sold was the largest in the Richmond region, though average sales prices in Chesterfield (8 percent increase) and Richmond (12 percent) jumped by higher amounts when compared to last August sales. > Read more.

Graham M. Bundy, a thoracic surgeon with HCA Virginia Physicians’ Cardiothoracic Surgical Associates, is the first such surgeon in Central Virginia to perform 100 minimally-invasive Da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomies (a surgical procedure to remove a lobe of the lung). The procedure is used to treat multiple types of conditions but is most often used to treat lung cancer. > Read more.

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Calendar

Learn the most important things children need from parents and easy ways to implement them on Sunday afternoons in October at the Gayton Kirk Presbyterian Church, 11421 Gayton Rd. The parenting classes will be taught using the resources of researcher Brene Brown. Parents will study using the video series from Brown’s “The gift of imperfect parenting: a wholehearted revolution.” The classes, which are free, will take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. A brunch will open the classes at 12:30 p.m. Age appropriate story time, activities and music will be available for children. For details, call 741-5254 or visit http://www.thegaytonkirk.org.
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